T-Mobile Sues Starbucks Over Wi-Fi Deal

Yes, T-Mobile has sued Starbucks, and it's over wi-fi, but it's not
over the fact that Starbucks is dropping T-Mobile in favor of AT&T.
It's over their new "free wi-fi" plan that was just unveiled this week.

In the lawsuit, filed late on Thursday in New York state court, T-Mobile alleges that AT&T and Starbucks Corp are not living up to an agreement the three companies reached over how Starbucks should transfer from its T-Mobile partnership to a new partnership with AT&T announced earlier this year.

T-Mobile is seeking unspecified damages against Starbucks for breach of its contract and unfair competition.

According to a transition agreement reached in February, T-Mobile was given the exclusive right to "sell, market and promote its services" in Starbucks stores until those stores were fully converted to the AT&T system, the lawsuit said.

Starbucks stores would be converted "on a market-to-market basis" and T-Mobile was to retain the exclusive right to market and sell its Internet services until a market had been fully converted, the lawsuit said.

The big point, and we're sure you can see it, is that all that T-Mobile infrastructure is being used by AT&T and Starbucks to grab some $$$. And while some of it is probably sour grapes, that is a good point. We expect an our-of-court settlement rather than a hearing, but we'll see.